#continuation!

[123pixieaod]

An AU (maybe, possibly) where Max was the one who told Daniel he was losing his seat

(Part 2 of The Smell of Roses)

Max found out in Baku, the same day they told Liam.

“So,” Christian ended, his hand massaging the back of his neck. “If you could keep this to yourself, we would appreciate it.”

They hadn’t wanted to tell him. But after his Instagram post with Daniel in the helicopter, he had to be let in on it. They didn’t want him soft-launching Daniel Ricciardo to the team while they were in the background busy sharpening their hatchet. Mixed messages. Bad PR for an energy drink.

“But you have told Daniel, right?”

For the first time in the conversation, Christian broke eye contact with Max. His shame was heady, almost alcoholic.

-

Rest on ao3!

[gingerdusk]

@argentleif Starting a new post from this one!

So by gryphs wanting the leftovers, does that mean they have cannibalistic tendencies? Or rather they want the leftovers of non gryph meals?

They're opportune cannibals. They won't hunt each other unless they're infringing on territory, but they will eat any dead gryph they come across.

Wow that is a terrifying werewolf. How long do they tend to live with their new way of life? Like what's the survival rate of the first transformation, as in how many two foots are waiting for the transformation to revert so they can take out the now very naked and very person sized werewolf? Do they flee society? Or try and act like it didn't happen? Mixture of both? In two foot form do they congregate? Do they fight eachother while transformed because food is food? Do they all transform at the same time i.e 'the 15th of every month is werewolf night' or 'every full moon' or is based on when they got bit and thus a two foot werewolf and a transformed werewolf can co-exist (until the two foot is probably eaten)?

It varies as to how well they survive--are the two-foots good enough at hiding from a starving predator to not get eaten? Do they have any experience hunting werewolves? The belluan still regenerates while in two-foot form, so it's difficult to kill them.

Fleeing society is the best bet one has at surviving, unless they know they have a steady supply of fresh blood. A particularly savvy belluan can drink from a victim, eat the evidence when next they change, and act perfectly normal otherwise.

Most belluans operate solo; those that stick together are more often familial ties--ie, one of them turned the others and has cobbled together something of a cover for them all. I have a pack that operates almost like a mafia, where the "disappearances" for getting on the wrong side of the wolf in charge wind up as food. Outside of that, a blood-fed belluan isn't hungry, so it won't care about another one. A starving belluan (as most are) will still try to kill and eat another on sight.

Transformation is more of a biological function than a supernatural event, so it doesn't care what time of the month it is. Each strain has its own rough cycle--for example, one with an average cycle of 53 days could turn as low as 50 days post-bite, or as high as 56.

Ooh I see, how are knightwardens chosen? How benevolent are they? And what do the public and political leaders think of them?

There's a sort of exam taken every few years among young children. 2% of the population are spark-eyed, meaning they're capable of using magic. They get taken and shipped off to the Elemental Colleges to learn how to use that magic.

If you're not spark-eyed, but you score high enough in cognitive and coordination tests, you're sent to the Knightwarden Academy. Generally speaking, the public loves them and the leaders are glad for their services; knightwardens are meant to be cordial, kind, and the heroes that stop the horrors from happening to you.

Oooh that's cool. So by not intermixing is that full stop as in the only way they're interacting is via battle, uneasy truces, and interacting like the other has the plague?

Or is it specifically that they can't have offspring or live in the same house, but could hypothetically live in the same town and work together in a field?

Specifically, they cannot have offspring. They're different species that experienced convergent evolution (it runs a little deeper than that but that gets into historical lore on where everyone came from), so they're genetically incompatible. Nobody cares if you go and marry one, or adopt a handful of different two-foots, but a human can only have a child with another human.

Oh wow. So doppels could be kind little old ladies who give out cookies but will punch your lights out if you try to do the same, as well as horrifying beasts of destruction all based on how they're treated? Damn. What happens if two blank doppels see eachother? How are doppels made?

Doppels that stay in one place for awhile drip silvery liquid onto the ground. Give that puddle enough time undisturbed, and a new doppel will eventually form out of it.

Blank doppels don't generally last long. There's always something around to try to mimic--if not a person, a wild animal. If you were to theoretically leave one in a vacuum for ages, then somehow introduce it to another one without any sort of interference that could be copied, they'd probably endlessly copy each other's ripples and look like watery mannequins until interrupted. They just stare until they find something to copy.

Oh gods, those poor dragons, and potentially dragon riders depending on how they are chosen (i.e. if they choose to be, they're horrid, if they're tricked or just yoinked from the street because the makers of dragon riders are already into the unethical, they also get some pity, though less than the dragons). What do knightwardens think of dragonriders? Are they the one's doing it?

So, back to the knightwardens, remember how I said if you pass high cognitive and coordination tests, you get chosen? If you aren't spark-eyed, you don't pass those tests, but you ARE red-threaded (part of the magic system) AND you pass a very narrow physical margin, you're sent to the Dragonblood Citadel. No choice in the matter.

Knightwardens generally think of dragonbloods either with pity or with disgust--depends on the warden. They aren't scared of them, so it's a tossup between "you're a monster, and I'll kill you the second I'm ordered to" and "you were chosen for your job, just like me. You got the short end of the stick."

Is ocheon the country? Or an entity? Or the name of the people of said planet?

Continent! The planet is Ater, the continent is Ocheon, and the country on the continent I've developed the most is Abrylia. I gave a full rundown here!

How are the now mutant dragonblood riders treated by society? Are they heroes with dark secrets the public doesn't know? Or a viewed necessary evil?

People are generally afraid of them. Dragonbloods are tall, built like brick walls, with claws, patches of scales, draconic eyes, fangs, and the ability to breathe fire. It doesn't matter how they act, society is going to see them as a monster, something to live with to keep the dragons in check, and, if the aggressor is feeling cocky, an easy way to rid the world of another dragon.

The unfortunate thing is, for how imposing dragonbloods are, the mutations were never designed to strengthen them. They've got chronic pains, dehydration, blood that feels like it's on fire, and a general weakness to them; they're seldom ever trained in their own combat, only in how to direct their dragons, so a few two-foots could easily gang up on a dragonblood.

How often are dragon nests raided?

Whenever they're found. It's a public duty to report any wild dragon sightings so they can be monitored and eventually raided; the end goal is to have ALL dragons under the killswitch of a dragonblood eventually.

[zeezeepearl]

ok im going to #seriouspost for a second here. I don't think Harry Potter is a manifesto. I think it was a flawed passion project that millennials latched onto because of the fantasy of sticking it to their mean teachers and arbitrarily categorizing themselves (hogwarts houses; it's the thinking millennial's astrology). I think the fact that the series got popular when and how it did was very much a product of its time.

I don't think Harry Potter is the biggest symbol of JKR's bigotry. I think the most flagrant sign of that was how she responded to critics. I watched her become radicalized in real time. I watched how she doubled down on her racism when she was called out for the ways she promoted her tragically mid fantastic beasts movies. I watched her chase marginalized teenagers with a double digit follower count off of twitter for daring to criticize her thought process, and no one with any kind of power standing against her because she was the one who was paying them. This isn't to say Harry Potter is without flaws. This is to say she really didn't give a shit about that. Getting rich and powerful is a hell of a drug, and she had enough sycophants that she had no reason to care about what her critics were saying.

She was convinced that she was a martyr; a voice for the unheard; a leader for the ages, so of course her detractors were the bad guys. And I think we should take this to heart. We should see this as an example of how easy it is to get radicalized; if you think of yourself as a paragon of virtue, you are going to think that whatever you see as good and right is an objective fact. Most people don't know this, but the majority of terfs start out as trans allies. You are not immune to propaganda! You are not immune to falling into dangerous ideologies!!!

This is why the most important thing you can do as an activist is to listen. Do NOT think you're above being wrong; do NOT develop a god complex; do NOT form an identity out of being right all the time. Involve yourselves in the groups you claim to speak for. Listen to trans women; share resources that help trans women; familiarize yourself with the diversity of experiences that trans people have and the struggles they face.

No, none of you are as bad as JKR because you don't have her money or her power. You will likely never have the capacity for harm she does. But check yourselves. Do not affirm yourselves into thinking you always have the moral high ground. Watch yourselves; humble yourselves; check yourselves for signs of cult behavior and internalized prejudice. You are always learning. You will always be learning. Do not allow yourselves to get a power trip from brushing off marginalized voices.

[bookwyrminspiration]

god I would be UNSTOPPABLE if I was capable of consistently initiating tasks. just you wait. you'll be waiting a while but just you wait

[evenlyevi]

Goodnight.

[corrodedparadox]

We need more walkable cities. I am so tired of my transportation turning to aquatic life. It’s so inconvenient.

Prints

[mearchy]

my favorite genre of fictional character is like "i am terrifying to almost everyone, i'm very good at killing, i can endure anything, i've become exceptionally good at playing into my reputation, and if you try to give me positive social interaction i will react with confusion and cower in a corner like an abused animal. and i may try to shoot you. but there is also a chance i may imprint on you like a feral dog receiving its first loving touch! good luck."

[djungleskogs]

it’s crazy how absolutely blatantly luigi’s constitutional rights are being breached and people seem more concerned about his appearance than a real, scary view of the power CEOs and the healthcare industry have over the legal system. like yeah he looks good in those photos i can appreciate that too but can we focus on the fact that the media is absolutely treating him as if he has already been found guilty. this could happen to anyone. anyone could be arrested over the death of a wealthy, influential person and the precedent being set right now is essentially that the prosecution can run wild and create documentaries declaring your guilt. like that’s really serious and scary.

[pakchoys]

our secret

[wormspoodle]

compiled some things

[44boora]

The Resurrection of Stanley Pines 🪦🩸

[schistcity]

ohhh… you guys are like… STUPID stupid

[silverview]

psa

[slimespecter]

mr ant

[blabberoo]

told myself i'd make a short sketches during my break time.. i made a whole ass comic